Monitoring recurrent nova U Sco to discover its imminent eruption
Active Dates: April 3, 2019 – April 3, 2020
Abstract:
Frequent monitoring is requested of the recurrent nova U Scorpii over the next year or so to discover the upcoming very-fast eruption. The predicted outburst is for the year 2020.0±0.7. The eruption is likely within the next year, but it could well go off tonight.
Justification:
U Sco has had ten known eruptions, which reliably have gone off every 10.6 years on average (with an RMS variation of ±1.6 years), with the last eruption starting in 2010.1. But AAVSO light curves show that U Sco was substantially brighter than average in the years 2011 and 2012, so the accretion rate was higher than average, so the accumulated material on the surface of the white dwarf is somewhat ahead of the average schedule, so the eruption should happen substantially before the average expectation year of 2020.7. The most likely eruption time is any night now.
Requested Data Types:
Photometry
Targets
| Name | Magnitude | Variability Type | Photometry Notes | Spectroscopy Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U Sco | 7.50 | NR+E |
Cadence: Not Specified Precision: 100 |
Not Requested |
Spectroscopy Lines:
No spectroscopy lines provided
Photometry Filters:
No photometry filters provided
Comparison Stars:
No comparison stars provided
Co-Authorship
Observers are not eligible for co-authorship.
Additional Observer Input:
Not provided
Additional Submission Location:
Not provided
Forum URL
N/A
Notes:
Principal Investigator: Dr. Bradley E. Schaefer; Imported Campaign (Alert Notice #664)